Virtual communication systems (VCS) have been developed which allow a person to work in non-traditional work environments, such as at home or in a hotel room while still affording the worker the benefit of sophisticated communication services. Systems such as the ones described in co-pending patent application Ser. Nos. 09/318,015 and 09/370,766, which are incorporated by reference, describe systems which allow for a remote worker to utilize sophisticated communication services provided by the network without requiring the worker to have special communication equipment.
VCS is also beneficial to small businesses which cannot afford to own a Public Branch Exchange (PBX) or are not large enough to justify a PBX, but still wish to have sophisticated communication features. Many small businesses use shared line communication systems, such as Key Telephone Systems (KTS). A KTS allows for calls to be placed or received at any one of a number of telephone sets, and over any one of a plurality of available telephone lines from a central office. Typically, a KTS has a single telephone number which is used for incoming calls. A receptionist or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) unit answers the calls and then directs each call to an extension which is associated with a particular party. The lines associated with the KTS are shared by the extensions such that a system may have 20 extensions but only ten lines. The ratio of the number of extensions to number of lines may be determined based on traffic flows through the KTS (e.g., the number of concurrent incoming and outgoing calls).
A requirement of VCS is that a user of VCS be able to identify a telephone number at which the user can send and receive telephone calls. This can cause problems when the user is located at a facility which uses a KTS or other type of shared line system. Because a user of a KTS cannot be reached directly, the user cannot effectively get access to all VCS services.